Realizations that arrive before the elevator does

Tag Archives: summer vacation

Day 36 of my school break. The summer months are somewhat like gas tanks. The first half of the summer seems to go at a reasonable pace. The second part seems much shorter and when you still think you have quite a bit of gas left, the gauge says you are just about at the quarter mark left. Talking about cars and gas tanks and things to do on school vacation, makes me think that I had not planned to spend two of the days addressing flat-ish tires. About two weeks ago, my sensor light came on. Never a good thing. It’s not exactly a hello greeting from my car but rather a “Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!” which means I cannot just go blithely along in my travels. I am now going to have to do something I am not in the mood to do. When the sensor comes on, it is letting me know that the air pressure in one of four tires is low. Just enough info to be annoying, since it doesn’t tell me any more specific information and visually, they all looked just fine to me. I took the car to a place where air is not free and almost two dollars in coins later, I drove away, hopeful to have solved the problem. No such luck as the sensor did not reset. In fact it looked brighter and seemed to be smirking at me. I got my FHB involved and we found a place with “free air” and filled the tires once again. This time the light stayed off, overnight. The next morning we went to our friendly tire place and lo and behold there was a screw used to hold bridges together in the tire. We replaced the tire and all seemed well with our world. A few days ago, while driving to my office, on a road that is under construction, that sensor light came on. I pulled into the parking lot and a different tire seemed to be a bit low on air. I made a pre-emptive call to the tire place and arranged to bring it in, the next morning. I got up at the crack of dawn, since I was an “add-on” and drove myself to the tire place and was greeted warmly. Of course, I saw dollar signs in the service manager’s eyes. I brought a few books, a newpaper, my phone and watched the Today Show while I waited, and waited. The technician appeared with a bolt he said was stuck in my tire. Of course, it was. Probably came out of the Frankenstein’s monster’s neck. I think I saw him walking on the road I drove on. Luckily, it could be plugged (the tire, not the neck). I don’t drink coffee in tire places. I always think the cups smell like rubber. That’s just me.

I made an executive decision to take myself to breakfast. I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I entered the restaurant which is a little gem in Fairhaven, the town across from New Bedford. The town with my favorite library. I ordered a couple of Norwegian pancakes, sausages and good coffee. I had taken the window seat at a table pretty much suited for one with a view of the street. I have had several periods of time in my life when I did things alone. I didn’t have a partner and I liked going to movies on my own, and finding sweet little places to dine, just me, myself and I. I looked out the window and the morning light shone on a young golden retriever across the street. He stood expectantly out the gate and gave low woofs to the passersby. It’s a quiet town and in the early morning, there are a few people on bikes, and some folks walking toward the waterfront. My food appeared, the coffee cup was refilled, I pulled out my copy of Men Without Women, by Murakami and held it close to me. I took some breaths, smiled out the window at the dog, and put a bite of sheer heaven in a pancake in my mouth. Of the things I must do and the things I should do, this became something I delighted in doing.

Nine days and counting…to the last day of school, not including the weekends. As folks in my circle, both students and staff would say…but who’s counting?….WE ALL ARE! Love my job but knowing that it’s almost time to call it feels so good. I have this ritual as the weeks count down. I keep a list on my nightstand of the things I want to attempt, places I want to visit, and experiences I want to experience between the last day of school and the first day back. I still have some leftovers from last year but they actually don’t go bad and I roll them into this year’s list and my success rate of accomplishing is usually +/- 80%.

Most of the list involve solitary pursuits. It’s not to be unfriendly, as I consider myself to be social most of the time, but part of recharging my own batteries, is knowing that doing things on my own will make me far more pleasant to be around overall. In a helping profession, this is considered the “me first” remedy. Some of the things under consideration might seem off beat, but that is for others to judge and me to find out. I thought I would share some of them. Here goes and they are in no particular order:

Find foods to turn into dyes to paint. I am curious about condiments and whether doing this will be disgusting or interesting. Dijon vs yellow?

Try to find my pen pal from when I was ten. Elizabeth Feijoo of Manila, The Phillipines….if you’re reading this, you’ll save me a lot of research. Please write back.

Getting my German Passport, since my parents were both born there and had to leave before WWII, I am entitled to have dual citizenship and my sister and I have decided to look into this as it is something we can pass down to our children. Unclear if my FHB would be able to access this through me. Could raise some interesting conversations.

Read Moby Dick. Have avoided this for many years. Can’t live in New Bedford where it was written and not say you’ve read it. It’s time.

Go to the JFK Presidential Library in Boston to celebrate his 100th birthday. You can go online and sign a card. Did that. Want to remember the good and not the tragedy.

Want to go and see the St. Lawrence River and Seaway and see how the locks work. It’s probably dorky but I’ve been curious so time for a road trip.

Try grilled tuna and/or swordfish. I’ve had swordfish a few times and I didn’t like it but something tells me it was supposed to taste better than it was. Never had tuna other than out of a can. Seems like an adult food to consider.

See if my FHB and I can try a week of vegan clean eating. Not sure if that will be before or after #7.

Try doing shibori, the Japanese art of tie dying. (hold over from last summer). Bought the supplies and they stare at me.

Get my car detailed. Never buy a light color interior. Even water stains.

Swim in the ocean. It has been too long and I want to remember how much I love to swim. Planning not to drown.

Visit Lizzie Borden’s house. Fall River is just down the road. I want to see if I get creeped out.

See a couple of sunrises.

I’ll keep you all in the loop. Enjoy your weekend. Make your own list.